Chapter 45: Can Wolves Be Eaten? Go Back and Scavenge When They Finish Fighting

“It’s all wild vegetables today. What exactly is going on with the Landlord’s side?”

“Hmm…”

“Stop guessing. It would be a miracle if we could accurately predict the Landlord’s business. Wild vegetables are fine, at least they’re fresh. We need to eat more fresh vegetables to supplement our vitamins anyway.”

“That’s true, but I still crave normal vegetables. The taste of wild vegetables is always a bit bitter. Let’s give all those vegetable seeds we found today to the Landlord. Maybe she can grow them.”

“We can’t give them all. Let’s give a portion.”

…

“Cabbage seeds, radish seeds, and some seeds they don’t even recognize.”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s plant a few first to see what they look like when they grow, then check the pictures in the books,” Bai Yu said, holding a book and flipping through the colorful illustrations of various vegetables. “This New Plane is wonderful. These books are all filled with pictures.”

“You’re right, and they’re drawn so well,” Bai Xi praised sincerely. “Those wild vegetables we found yesterday? After we brought them back and compared them, they were exactly like the ones in the book. Miao Miao is amazing too, actually recognizing them all. Some of those wild vegetables looked almost identical to me, but some were actually inedible.”

“Miao Miao has a good memory,” Bai Yu said, gently patting little Bai Miao’s head beside her. She pointed at the book. “Miao Miao, if you’re bored later, read more books. Once you understand what’s written, tell Eldest Sister and Second Sister, okay?”

Bai Miao nodded repeatedly.

Bai Yu asked again, “Does Miao Miao like reading?”

“I like it,” Bai Miao nodded again. “The books have pictures, they’re very pretty. Reading also lets us pick wild vegetables to trade for more books. Books are good.”

“Miao Miao is right, books are very good,” Bai Yu praised. “We used to be illiterate and lacked worldly knowledge, so we didn’t even know which wild vegetables were edible. But as long as we read more, we’ll know more edible wild vegetables in the future, and we’ll even know how to plant them.”

“And look, Miao Miao,” Bai Xi held up another book, “this book even teaches us how to cook. How about Second Sister makes you some delicious dishes tonight?”

Bai Miao’s eyes lit up, and she walked over quickly. “Second Sister, I’ll read.”

“Yes, Miao Miao can read to me, and I’ll do the cooking. There’s so much written in here. Once I learn, the food will definitely taste better than before,” Bai Xi said happily.

She actually quite liked cooking, but her conditions had been limited before. Furthermore, she had lived on a boat her whole life, and aside from the simplest steaming, she didn’t know any other methods. After arriving on the island and finally getting an iron pot, she could only fumble through making the simplest stir-fries. Sometimes, if she wasn’t careful, the results were barely edible.

Now that she had the content in the books for reference, she felt she could definitely cook something delicious.

And the facts proved her right.

She found a simple recipe in the book for which they had the ingredients and tried making it. The final taste was indeed much better than the dishes she had fumbled through on her own.

Not to mention Bai Yu and Bai Xi, even Bai Miao ate two bowls of rice with the dishes that evening.

Among the many books obtained through trade, there were also books about wild mushrooms. After trying to pick some edible mushrooms and discovering that mushroom stew was exceptionally delicious, they became enthusiastic. Whenever they had free time, they would head to the Forest Plane to pick wild vegetables and mushrooms.

However, at the same time, they didn’t forget about planting vegetables.

But the trees in the Forest Plane were quite dense. Even though they had harvested a large amount of timber several times to upgrade the house and the Small Pier, the space cleared out was still very limited.

To better plant vegetables, Bai Yu and Bai Xi discussed it and planned to build a few more rooms.

It wasn’t that they didn’t want to upgrade their own living quarters, but the materials required for upgrading the main house were quite numerous and weren’t things they could currently collect in full. Therefore, to use up the remaining wood, it was better to build more rooms.

They were accumulating more and more things, and one room could no longer hold it all. Building a few more could also serve for storage.

The cleared space in the Forest Plane could then be used specifically for planting vegetables.

…

“This pork is really substantial.”

“You can tell this wild boar spent its years running through the woods. There’s hardly any fat, it’s all lean meat.”

“It smells so good. I haven’t eaten fresh pork like this in a long time.”

“It’s a pity we lack seasonings, otherwise this pork would taste even better.”

“Let’s go out tomorrow and look. Maybe we can find some seasonings. A lot of things were scavenged after the cataclysm, but it seems like things like books and seasonings have a high probability of being overlooked. Even if we can’t find anything else, finding more salt would be good. It’s a waste to eat so much pork all at once. Let’s make salted pork.”

“I’m almost tired of eating this.”

“What time do you think it is? You’re still being picky?”

…

“It’s a good thing someone shared with us. Otherwise, with a wild boar this big, we’d have to lug it over to Nancy. It’s not that we can’t carry it, it’s just a hassle, and she isn’t short on meat anyway,” Bai Xi said, her eyes narrowing in delight as she ate the fragrant pork in her bowl. “Having a recipe really makes a difference. This wild boar meat is so delicious. Compared to this, the wild boar I made before was terrible.”

As she spoke, Bai Miao was holding a large rib, munching away happily.

Bai Yu had always felt that whatever her sister did was good, but eating the fragrant pork now and comparing it to Bai Xi’s previous level, she really couldn’t bring herself to offer a hollow compliment.

She could only say, “You’re the impressive one, Xiao Xi. Even if it’s just what’s written in a book, you can make such delicious meat.”

“Right? I think so too,” Bai Xi said proudly. She ate another large piece of meat and brought up an idea. “Eldest Sister, can we build a pigsty? Then we can go to the Forest Plane and catch a few wild piglets to raise.”

Bai Yu thought it was a good idea and nodded. “Then let’s go look for a wild boar’s den.”

Thus, in addition to their daily cultivation, picking wild vegetables, gathering mushrooms, and building houses, they had a new task: finding a pig’s nest.

Since they were already building houses, they could build the pigsty at the same time. That way, whenever they wanted to eat pork, they could slaughter one on the spot without having to search the Forest Plane.

They hadn’t caught any wild boars yet, but they did manage to catch a nest of wild chickens and a nest of wild rabbits first. They simply built the coops for the chickens and rabbits first.

Fortunately, the island was very large. Except for the area where they lived, it was all empty space. They could find any spot to build the pens.

These animals would have an odor, so they didn’t build them too close. Instead, they set them up a bit further away, where they could keep an eye on them without the smell blowing over with the wind.

As for food for these small animals, besides the wild vegetables they picked, they also obtained some magical food from the Magic Plane. After using an Upgrade Card to extract the Magic Elements, they crushed the food to feed them.

They had tasted the food from the Magic Plane themselves. Things with Magic Elements were very unpleasant to eat, and things without Magic Elements weren’t particularly tasty either, as they still carried some lingering flavors. Nancy and the others didn’t mind those tastes, but for the three sisters who were used to their own palate, it was hard to adjust.

So even if they were occasionally short on food lately, they wouldn’t eat those things.

But these wild animals were different. Even if the food had lost its Magic Elements, it still held an inexplicable attraction for them. Even if the taste wasn’t great, they would eat every last bit.

Occasionally, Bai Xi would use this food to go fishing. She basically got a bite every time she cast her line, and sometimes she could even catch large fish, which made for a perfect extra dish.

Because they had been moving around the Forest Plane constantly during this period, the ingredients they used for trading were quite varied, leaving the tenants of the New Plane who received them at the market somewhat bewildered.

“Can the Landlord travel a thousand miles in an instant? She’s been playing in the forest this whole time?”

“It looks like it. Wild vegetables, mushrooms, and some fruit. Although they’re a bit tart, at least it’s fresh fruit.”

“Occasionally there’s fish, too.”

“So she really can travel a thousand miles in an instant. There’s no way she can be at the seaside and in the forest at the same time otherwise.”

“I told you the Landlord isn’t ordinary. Never mind just darting between the sea and the forest, it wouldn’t even be strange if she could fly to the heavens or dive into the deep sea. Regardless, we have food.”

“That’s true… Oh, someone’s back.”

The person speaking immediately went to open the door, and sure enough, they saw someone returning with a load of items.

“So many things this time?”

“I don’t know if they’re useful, so I just brought them all back. Even if they can’t be traded for food, maybe they can count toward the rent.”

“Is this… wire and light bulbs? Can these even be useful?”

“Maybe.”

“I think it’s a long shot. Right now, only a tiny portion of the settlement areas in the entire city has temporary electricity. They probably won’t be of much use, but since you’ve already brought them back, if they happen to be useful, it’s good if they can pay the rent.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. By the way, did we exchange for today’s food?”

“We did. There are mushrooms today, too. We can make a stew.”

“Mushrooms are good. They’re fragrant no matter how you cook them. I wonder when there will be wild boar again. I’m craving fresh pork.”

…

“Eldest Sister, there are wild boar tracks here, and quite a few of them,” Bai Xi said, looking at the prints sunk into the mud. “I expect we can find plenty of wild boars nearby.”

Bai Yu walked over carrying Bai Miao to take a look. Sure enough, she saw those messy wild boar tracks. With so many marks, it didn’t look like they were made by just one or two boars.

She handed Bai Miao to Bai Xi. “Xiao Xi, take Miao Miao and hide well. I’ll follow the tracks and take a look. If I can catch a few newborn piglets, we can raise them.”

Bai Xi nodded and held Bai Miao tightly. “Then be careful, Eldest Sister.”

“It’s fine. With our current strength, even if several wild boars attacked at once, they might not be able to beat me. Besides, it’s not like I don’t know how to dodge,” Bai Yu said, rolling up her sleeves. “You two stay hidden. I’m going to check it out.”

Bai Xi gave a word of affirmation, looked around, and climbed the nearest large tree while holding Bai Miao. She waved to the departing Bai Yu and waited quietly in the tree for her return.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, both Bai Xi and Bai Miao heard sounds coming from below and poked their heads out to look.

They saw Bai Yu carrying two small piglets in her hands. After reaching them, she quickly climbed the tree where the two were waiting. The three of them quickly held onto each other and used the Transit Pass to return to the island.

As soon as they arrived on the island, Bai Yu panted, “The wild boars and wolves are fighting. We’ll wait a bit, then go back to scavenge once the fight is almost over.”

“Wolves?” Bai Miao’s eyes sparkled. “Can we eat them?”

Bai Yu was stumped by the question. “Probably… yes?”

Bai Miao wriggled out of their arms and walked quickly into the house. “Check the book!”